Translation of an American article from 1971, the year the Autopub opened in New York
A JOYFUL SPREE BENEATH THE GENERAL MOTORS BUILDING
SLAVIK adapted his Drugstore concept to the Autopub, a true laid-back hive of restaurants celebrating the automobile era
The doors open every day at noon at the New York Autopub, and from then until closing at 1 a.m., this long labyrinth of restaurants, stretching almost the entire length of the building’s underground level, is a veritable hive of pleasure-seekers. The concept is an original idea by French designer Slavik, who made international restaurant headlines a few years ago with his fantastic Drugstore, with its spectacular design (the Drugstore Publicis Champs-Élysées, inaugurated in 1958). Intended for the broadest possible clientele and the fastest possible turnover, but above all without jostling anyone. Slavik invented a place where one goes rather than a place to eat. The idea of a calm, quiet venue was far from his mind. On the contrary, the phenomenal success of the Drugstore proved that a certain liveliness has its charm.
Slavik designed a Drugstore for New York last year, in 1970, with the architectural firm of Paul Chen.
Same concept, but a different theme. We wanted our servers to be young people, a bit amateurish, dressed in Getty Oil coveralls, so that the atmosphere would be relaxed, because “we knew that too much formality would not work,” says Philip Miles, Vice President of Marketing at Longchamps, which operates the Autopub, “because in a minute, you lose the game. We wanted a relaxed place where everyone would feel comfortable and wear what they like. We see all kinds of people pass through here: sophisticated people, tourists, office workers, advertising people, trendy people, hippies…”.
Guests can choose among seven dining rooms—or rather, seven atmospheres—each with its own character, but all designed around the automobile theme, in keeping with the restaurant’s location in the General Motors building.
No more than 100 people per restaurant, because according to current restaurant wisdom, the public prefers smaller, more intimate spaces to vast dining halls.
There is the Grandstand, the Pit Stop bar, and the Sandwich Shop for a quick meal at the heart of the action; the Classic Car Lounge at the counter; Lovers Lane and the Eldorado Grill, hidden behind Art Nouveau car doors for private meetings or romantic rendezvous; and the Drive-In Movie, where diners watch short films at lunch and feature films at dinner.
Shops (not yet in operation) are interspersed between the different restaurants.
Despite all this wonderful complexity, the Autopub operates with childlike simplicity. A single menu, limited to a small number of starters and a dozen main courses and desserts, serves the entire establishment at the same prices for all.
An intensive advertising and promotional programme quickly spread the word, and word of mouth widely broadcasts the Autopub’s attractions; everyone talks about its vintage cars, its race cars suspended from the ceiling, its motorcycle-helmet-shaped light fixtures and its bucket seats, its Laurel and Hardy films, etc., etc.
And to see more photos, here is the more detailed description
